1.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu

2.
George IV of the United Kingdom
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George IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover following the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten years later. From 1811 until his accession, he served as Prince Regent during his fathers mental illness. George IV led an extravagant lifestyle that contributed to the fashions of the Regency era and he was a patron of new forms of leisure, style and taste. He commissioned John Nash to build the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and remodel Buckingham Palace and he even forbade Caroline to attend his coronation and asked the government to introduce the unpopular Pains and Penalties Bill in a desperate, unsuccessful attempt to divorce her. For most of Georges regency and reign, Lord Liverpool controlled the government as Prime Minister and his ministers found his behaviour selfish, unreliable and irresponsible. At all times he was much under the influence of favourites, taxpayers were angry at his wasteful spending at a time when Britons were fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. He did not provide leadership in time of crisis, nor act as a role model for his people. Liverpools government presided over Britains ultimate victory, negotiated the peace settlement, after Liverpools retirement, George was forced to accept Catholic emancipation despite opposing it. His only child, Princess Charlotte, died before him in 1817 and so he was succeeded by his younger brother, George was born at St Jamess Palace, London, on 12 August 1762, the first child of King George III of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte. As the eldest son of a British sovereign, he automatically became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay at birth, he was created Prince of Wales, on 18 September of the same year, he was baptised by Thomas Secker, Archbishop of Canterbury. His godparents were the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the Duke of Cumberland, George was a talented student, and quickly learned to speak French, German and Italian, in addition to his native English. He was a witty conversationalist, drunk or sober, and showed good, the Prince of Wales turned 21 in 1783, and obtained a grant of £60,000 from Parliament and an annual income of £50,000 from his father. It was far too little for his needs – the stables alone cost £31,000 a year and he then established his residence in Carlton House, where he lived a profligate life. Animosity developed between the prince and his father, who desired more frugal behaviour on the part of the heir apparent, the King, a political conservative, was also alienated by the princes adherence to Charles James Fox and other radically inclined politicians. Soon after he reached the age of 21, the prince became infatuated with Maria Fitzherbert and she was a commoner, six years his elder, twice widowed, and a Roman Catholic. Despite her complete unsuitability, the prince was determined to marry her, nevertheless, the couple went through a marriage ceremony on 15 December 1785 at her house in Park Street, Mayfair. Legally the union was void, as the Kings consent was not granted, however, Fitzherbert believed that she was the princes canonical and true wife, holding the law of the Church to be superior to the law of the State. For political reasons, the union remained secret and Fitzherbert promised not to reveal it, the prince was plunged into debt by his exorbitant lifestyle

3.
Governor of New South Wales
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The Governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the Governor is appointed by the queen on the advice of the Premier of New South Wales, for an unfixed period of time—known as serving At Her Majestys pleasure—though five years is the norm. The current Governor is retired General David Hurley, who succeeded Dame Marie Bashir on 2 October 2014, the office has its origin in the 18th-century colonial governors of New South Wales upon its settlement in 1788, and is the oldest continuous institution in Australia. The office of Governor is required by the New South Wales Constitution Act,1902, besides the administration of the oaths of office, there is no set formula for the swearing-in of a governor-designate. The sovereign will also hold an audience with the appointee and will at that time induct the governor-designate as a Companion of the Order of Australia. The incumbent will generally serve for at least five years, though this is only a convention. The premier may therefore recommend to the Queen that the remain in her service for a longer period of time. A governor may also resign and three have died in office, furthermore, if the Lieutenant Governor becomes incapacitated while serving in the office of Governor, the next most senior judge of the Supreme Court is sworn in as the Administrator. Between 1788 and 1957, all governors were born outside of New South Wales and were members of the Peerage. Taylor once noted that out and governing New South Wales became the British aristocracys abiding consolation. Coincidentally the first Australian-born Governor, Sir John Northcott on 1 August 1946, was also the first Australian-born Governor of any state, the first Governors were all military officers and the majority of governors since have come from a military background, numbering 19. Samuels was the first governor in New South Wales history without either a political, public service or military background, the first woman to hold this position is also the first Lebanese-Australian governor, Dame Marie Bashir. In this capacity, the governor will issue royal proclamations and sign orders in council, the Governor alone is constitutionally mandated to summon parliament. The governor grants Royal Assent in the Queens name, legally, if the governor withholds the Queens assent, the sovereign may within two years disallow the bill, thereby annulling the law in question. No modern viceroy has denied Royal Assent to a bill, with most constitutional functions delegated to Cabinet, the governor acts in a primarily ceremonial fashion. He or she will host members of Australias royal family, as well as foreign royalty, also as part of international relations, the governor receives letters of credence and of recall from foreign consul-generals appointed to Sydney. The governor is also tasked with fostering unity and pride, the governor also traditionally serves as Honorary and Regimental Colonel in the Royal New South Wales Regiment and as Honorary Air Commodore of No.22 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force. Since 1946, the governor has also always made the Chief Scout of New South Wales

4.
General officer
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A general officer is an officer of high rank in the army, and in some nations air forces or marines. The term general is used in two ways, as the title for all grades of general officer and as a specific rank. It originates in the 16th century, as a shortening of captain general, the adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction. Today, the title of General is known in countries as a four-star rank. However different countries use different systems of stars for senior ranks and it has a NATO code of OF-9 and is the highest rank currently in use in a number of armies. The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure. Lower-ranking officers in military forces are typically known as field officers or field-grade officers. There are two systems of general ranks used worldwide. In addition there is a system, the Arab system of ranks. Variations of one form, the old European system, were used throughout Europe. It is used in the United Kingdom, from which it spread to the Commonwealth. The other is derived from the French Revolution, where ranks are named according to the unit they command. The system used either a general or a colonel general rank. The rank of marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank. Many countries actually used two brigade command ranks, which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia, mexico and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks. As a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major, confusion arises because a lieutenant is outranked by a major. Originally the serjeant major was, exclusively, the commander of the infantry, junior only to the captain general, the distinction of serjeant major general only applied after serjeant majors were introduced as a rank of field officer. Serjeant was eventually dropped from both titles, creating the modern rank titles

5.
Paihia
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Paihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the towns of Russell and Kerikeri,60 kilometres north of Whangarei. Missionary Henry Williams named the mission station Marsdens Vale and eventually the Paihia became the name of the settlement. Nearby to the north is the settlement of Waitangi. The port and township of Opua, and the settlement of Te Haumi. The population of Paihia was 1770 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 69 from 2001, Henry Williams and his wife Marianne settled in Paihia in 1823 and built the first church there the same year. William Williams and his wife Jane joined the Paihia mission in 1826, bishop William Grant Broughton visited the Paihia mission in 1838 and performed several firsts in New Zealand including the first Confirmation and Ordination ceremonies. The Herald was a 55-ton schooner that was built by the missionaries, in December 1832 the first mention of cricket being played in New Zealand was recorded by Henry Williams. In 1835 a game of cricket was witnessed here by Charles Darwin, in December 1835 while the Beagle spent 10 days in the Bay of Islands, in 1835 William Colenso set up the first printing press in New Zealand at Paihia. In 1850 the mission closed and Paihia declined to a small settlement by 1890. St. Pauls Anglican Church, completed in 1925, is the church built on the site. It is constructed of stone quarried from the Pukaru locality, near Kawakawa, the windows, titled Te Ara O Te Manawa are 4 m2 in total size. In 1926 a road was constructed to Puketona on the road from Kawakawa to Kerikeri leading to an increase in tourism in the 1930s. Paihia School is a full primary school with a decile rating of 4. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as oceanic, but it is rainier in winter and it has strong subtropical influence and is classified as such under the Trewartha system due to its consistent warm temperatures, and is the mildest weather station in New Zealand. Paihia - Jewel of the Bay of Islands Paihia map Paihia School website

6.
Tauranga
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Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century and by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963, Tauranga City is the centre of the fifth largest urban area in New Zealand, with an urban population of 134,400. The city lies in the corner of the Bay of Plenty. Tauranga is one of New Zealands main centres for business, international trade, culture, fashion, the Port of Tauranga is New Zealands largest port in terms of gross export tonnage and efficiency. This sudden population growth has made Tauranga New Zealands 5th largest city, the earliest known settlers were Māori who arrived at Tauranga in the Takitimu and the Mataatua waka in the 13th century. At 9 am on Friday 23 June 1826 the Herald was the first European ship to enter Tauranga Harbour, henry Williams conducted a Christian service at Otamataha Pā. In December 1826 and again on March 2007 the Herald travelled to Tauranga from the Bay of Islands to obtain supplies of potatoes, pigs, in 1835 a Church Missionary Society mission station was established at Tauranga by William Wade. Rev. Alfred N. Brown arrived at the CMS mission station in 1838, john Morgan also visited the mission in 1838. Europeans trading in flax were active in the Bay of Plenty during the 1830s, some were transient, others married local women and settled permanently. The first permanent non-Maori trader was James Farrow, who travelled to Tauranga in 1829, obtaining flax fibre for Australian merchants in exchange for muskets and gunpowder. Farrow acquired an area of 2,000 square metres on 10 January 1838 at Otumoetai Pā from the chiefs Tupaea, Tangimoana and Te Omanu. In 1840, a Catholic mission station was established, bishop Pompallier was given land within the palisades of Otumoetai Pā for a church and a presbytery. The mission station closed in 1863 due to wars in the Waikato district. The Tauranga Campaign took place in and around Tauranga from 21 January to 21 June 1864, the Battle of Gate Pa is the best known. The battle of Gate Pā was an attack on the well fortified Pā and its Māori defenders on 29 April 1864 by British forces made up of approximately 300 men of the 43rd Regiment and a naval brigade. It was the single most devastating loss of life suffered by the British military in the whole of the Māori Wars, the British casualties were 31 dead including 10 officers and 80 wounded. The Māori defenders abandoned the Pā during the night with casualties estimated at 25 dead, under the Local Government Order 2003, Tauranga became legally a city for a second time, from 1 March 2004. In August 2011, Tauranga received Ultra-Fast Broadband as part of the New Zealand Governments rollout, Tauranga is located around a large harbour that extends along the western Bay of Plenty, and is protected by Matakana Island and the extinct volcano of Mauao

7.
South Island
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The South Island or Te Waipounamu is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, the South Island covers 150,437 square kilometres and has a temperate climate. In the early stages of European settlement of the country, the South Island had the majority of the European population, in prose, the two main islands of New Zealand are called the North Island and the South Island, with the definite article. Charcoal drawings can be found on rock shelters in the centre of the South Island. The drawings are estimated to be between 500 and 800 years old, and portray animals, people and fantastic creatures, possibly stylised reptiles, some of the birds pictured are long extinct, including moa and Haasts eagles. They were drawn by early Māori, but by the time Europeans arrived, early inhabitants of the South Island were the Waitaha. They were largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the Kāti Mamoe in the 16th century, Kāti Mamoe were in turn largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the Kāi Tahu who migrated south in the 17th century. While today there is no distinct Kāti Mamoe organisation, many Kāi Tahu have Kāti Mamoe links in their whakapapa and, a notable feature of the Moriori culture, an emphasis on pacifism, proved disadvantageous when Māori warriors arrived in the 1830s aboard a chartered European ship. In the early 18th century, Kāi Tahu, a Māori tribe who originated on the east coast of the North Island, There they and Kāti Mamoe fought Ngāi Tara and Rangitāne in the Wairau Valley. Ngāti Māmoe then ceded the east coast regions north of the Clarence River to Kāi Tahu, Kāi Tahu continued to push south, conquering Kaikoura. By the 1730s, Kāi Tahu had settled in Canterbury, including Banks Peninsula, from there they spread further south and into the West Coast. In 1827-1828 Ngāti Toa under the leadership of Te Rauparaha successfully attacked Kāi Tahu at Kaikoura, Ngāti Toa then visited Kaiapoi, ostensibly to trade. When they attacked their hosts, the well-prepared Kāi Tahu killed all the leading Ngāti Toa chiefs except Te Rauparaha, Te Rauparaha returned to his Kapiti Island stronghold. After destroying Te Maiharanuis village they took their captives to Kapiti, John Stewart, though arrested and sent to trial in Sydney as an accomplice to murder, nevertheless escaped conviction. In the summer of 1831–32 Te Rauparaha attacked the Kaiapoi pā, Kaiapoi was engaged in a three-month siege by Te Rauparaha, during which his men successfully sapped the pā. They then attacked Kāi Tahu on Banks Peninsula and took the pā at Onawe, in 1832-33 Kāi Tahu retaliated under the leadership of Tūhawaiki and others, attacking Ngāti Toa at Lake Grassmere. Kāi Tahu prevailed, and killed many Ngāti Toa, although Te Rauparaha again escaped, fighting continued for a year or so, with Kāi Tahu maintaining the upper hand. Ngāti Toa never again made an incursion into Kāi Tahu territory

8.
Military history of New Zealand
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The military history of New Zealand is an aspect of the history of New Zealand that spans several hundred years. When first settled by Māori almost a millennium ago, there was land and resources. Initially being fought with close range weapons of wood and stone, colonisation by Britain led to the New Zealand land wars in the 19th century in which settler and imperial troops and their Māori allies fought against other Māori and a handful of Pākehā. In the first half of the 20th century, New Zealanders of all races fought alongside Britain in the Boer War, in the second half of the century and into this century the New Zealand Defence Force has provided token assistance to the United States in several conflicts. New Zealand has also contributed extensively to multilateral peacekeeping operations. The level of intertribal warfare amongst pre-European Māori is unknown, oral histories, legends and whakapapa include many stories of battles and wars but little research has been carried out into how often wars actually happened. Archaeological evidence suggests that population growth and the extinction of the moa, warfare increased as tribes. At some point, perhaps before this change, one group migrated to the Chatham Islands. Their pacifism left the Moriori unable to defend themselves when the islands were invaded by mainland Māori in the 1830s. In the classic Māori culture of 1550 CE onward, warriors were held in high esteem, Māori were unusual in having no distance weapons such as bows or slings, so all fighting took place at close range. Defence was based on hill forts, the remains of which can be all over New Zealand. The largest battle recorded was that of Hingakaka with several thousand combatants, the Musket Wars were a series of battles in the early 19th century, fought between various Māori tribal groups, mainly on the North Island. In time, all the tribes traded to obtain muskets and the conflict reached an uneasy stalemate. The wars gave Māori experience in fighting with and defending against guns – experience which would be vital in the New Zealand Wars. The expedition was sent by Governor Bourke from Sydney, but was criticised for use of excessive force by a British House of Commons report in 1835. The New Zealand or Land Wars were a series of wars fought between Māori on one side and a mixture of troops, imperial troops and other Māori on the other. The name Māori Wars has fallen into disuse, a Māori name for the conflict is Te Riri Pākehā. While the fighting began in 1843 and the last shots were fired in the early 20th century

9.
Captain (naval)
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Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the rank of colonel. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ship-of-the-line captain, captain of sea and war, captain at sea, the NATO rank code is OF-5, although the United States of America uses the code O-6 for the equivalent rank. O. The naval rank should not be confused with the army, air force, or marine ranks of captain, on large US ships, the executive officer may be a captain in rank, in which case it would be proper to address him by rank. Often the XO prefers to be called XO to avoid confusion with the CO, who is also a captain in rank and the captain of the ship. Captains with sea commands generally command ships of size or larger, the more senior the officer, the larger the ship. Even when an officer who is in the ships captains chain of command is present. The following articles deal with the rank of captain as it is used in various navies, Captain Captain Captain Capitaine de vaisseau Kapitän zur See Komandor Kapitan of the 1st rank Sea captain Post captain

10.
Head of state
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A head of state is the public persona that officially represents the national unity and legitimacy of a sovereign state. In some countries, the head of state is a figurehead with limited or no executive power, while in others. Former French president Charles de Gaulle, while developing the current Constitution of France, some academic writers discuss states and governments in terms of models. An independent nation state normally has a head of state, the non-executive model, in which the head of state has either none or very limited executive powers, and mainly has a ceremonial and symbolic role. In parliamentary systems the head of state may be merely the chief executive officer, heading the executive branch of the state. This accountability and legitimacy requires that someone be chosen who has a majority support in the legislature and it also gives the legislature the right to vote down the head of government and their cabinet, forcing it either to resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution. In parliamentary constitutional monarchies, the legitimacy of the head of state typically derives from the tacit approval of the people via the elected representatives. In reality, numerous variants exist to the position of a head of state within a parliamentary system, usually, the king had the power of declaring war without previous consent of the parliament. For example, under the 1848 constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the Statuto Albertino—the parliamentary approval to the government appointed by the king—was customary, so, Italy had a de facto parliamentarian system, but a de jure presidential system. These officials are excluded completely from the executive, they do not possess even theoretical executive powers or any role, even formal, hence their states governments are not referred to by the traditional parliamentary model head of state styles of His/Her Majestys Government or His/Her Excellencys Government. Within this general category, variants in terms of powers and functions may exist, the constitution explicitly vests all executive power in the Cabinet, who is chaired by the prime minister and responsible to the Diet. The emperor is defined in the constitution as the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people and he is a ceremonial figurehead with no independent discretionary powers related to the governance of Japan. Today, the Speaker of the Riksdag appoints the prime minister, Cabinet members are appointed and dismissed at the sole discretion of the prime minister. In contrast, the contact the President of Ireland has with the Irish government is through a formal briefing session given by the taoiseach to the president. However, he or she has no access to documentation and all access to ministers goes through the Department of the Taoiseach. The president does, however, hold limited reserve powers, such as referring a bill to the court to test its constitutionality. The most extreme non-executive republican Head of State is the President of Israel, semi-presidential systems combine features of presidential and parliamentary systems, notably a requirement that the government be answerable to both the president and the legislature. The constitution of the Fifth French Republic provides for a minister who is chosen by the president

11.
History of New Zealand
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The history of New Zealand dates back at least 700 years to when it was discovered and settled by Polynesians, who developed a distinct Māori culture centred on kinship links and land. The first European explorer to sight New Zealand was Abel Janszoon Tasman on 13 December 1642, captain James Cook, who reached New Zealand in October 1769 on the first of his three voyages, was the first European explorer to circumnavigate and map New Zealand. From the late 18th century, the country was visited by explorers and other sailors, missionaries. In 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the British Crown and various Māori chiefs, bringing New Zealand into the British Empire, there was extensive British settlement throughout the rest of the century. War and the imposition of a European economic and legal system led to most of New Zealands land passing from Māori to Pākehā ownership, from the 1890s the New Zealand parliament enacted a number of progressive initiatives, including womens suffrage and old age pensions. The country remained a member of the British Empire, and 110,000 men fought in World War I. After the war New Zealand signed the Treaty of Versailles, joined the League of Nations, when World War II broke out in 1939, New Zealanders contributed to the defence of the British Empire, the country contributed some 120,000 troops. From the 1930s the economy was highly regulated and a welfare state was developed. Meanwhile, Māori culture underwent a renaissance, and from the 1950s Māori began moving to the cities in large numbers and this led to the development of a Māori protest movement which in turn led to greater recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi in the late 20th century. In the 1980s the economy was deregulated and a number of socially liberal policies. Foreign policy involved support for Britain in the wars, and close relations after 1940 with the United States. Foreign policy after 1980 became more independent especially in pushing for a nuclear-free region, subsequent governments have generally maintained these policies, although tempering the free market ethos somewhat. In 1984, the Fourth Labour government was elected amid a constitutional, the economic reforms were led by finance minister Roger Douglas (finance minister, who enacted fundamental, radically neo-liberal and unexpectedly pro-free market reforms known as Rogernomics. New Zealand was originally settled by Polynesians from Eastern Polynesia, the most current reliable evidence strongly indicates that initial settlement of New Zealand occurred around 1280 CE. The descendants of settlers became known as the Māori, forming a distinct culture of their own. The original settlers quickly exploited the abundant large game in New Zealand, such as moa, as moa and other large game became scarce or extinct, Māori culture underwent major change, with regional differences. In areas where it was possible to grow taro and kūmara and this was not possible in the south of the South Island, but wild plants such as fernroot were often available and cabbage trees were harvested and cultivated for food. Warfare also increased in importance, reflecting increased competition for land, in this period, fortified pā became more common, although there is debate about the actual frequency of warfare

12.
OCLC
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The Online Computer Library Center is a US-based nonprofit cooperative organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the worlds information and reducing information costs. It was founded in 1967 as the Ohio College Library Center, OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the largest online public access catalog in the world. OCLC is funded mainly by the fees that libraries have to pay for its services, the group first met on July 5,1967 on the campus of the Ohio State University to sign the articles of incorporation for the nonprofit organization. The group hired Frederick G. Kilgour, a former Yale University medical school librarian, Kilgour wished to merge the latest information storage and retrieval system of the time, the computer, with the oldest, the library. The goal of network and database was to bring libraries together to cooperatively keep track of the worlds information in order to best serve researchers and scholars. The first library to do online cataloging through OCLC was the Alden Library at Ohio University on August 26,1971 and this was the first occurrence of online cataloging by any library worldwide. Membership in OCLC is based on use of services and contribution of data, between 1967 and 1977, OCLC membership was limited to institutions in Ohio, but in 1978, a new governance structure was established that allowed institutions from other states to join. In 2002, the structure was again modified to accommodate participation from outside the United States. As OCLC expanded services in the United States outside of Ohio, it relied on establishing strategic partnerships with networks, organizations that provided training, support, by 2008, there were 15 independent United States regional service providers. OCLC networks played a key role in OCLC governance, with networks electing delegates to serve on OCLC Members Council, in early 2009, OCLC negotiated new contracts with the former networks and opened a centralized support center. OCLC provides bibliographic, abstract and full-text information to anyone, OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat—the OCLC Online Union Catalog, the largest online public access catalog in the world. WorldCat has holding records from public and private libraries worldwide. org, in October 2005, the OCLC technical staff began a wiki project, WikiD, allowing readers to add commentary and structured-field information associated with any WorldCat record. The Online Computer Library Center acquired the trademark and copyrights associated with the Dewey Decimal Classification System when it bought Forest Press in 1988, a browser for books with their Dewey Decimal Classifications was available until July 2013, it was replaced by the Classify Service. S. The reference management service QuestionPoint provides libraries with tools to communicate with users and this around-the-clock reference service is provided by a cooperative of participating global libraries. OCLC has produced cards for members since 1971 with its shared online catalog. OCLC commercially sells software, e. g. CONTENTdm for managing digital collections, OCLC has been conducting research for the library community for more than 30 years. In accordance with its mission, OCLC makes its research outcomes known through various publications and these publications, including journal articles, reports, newsletters, and presentations, are available through the organizations website. The most recent publications are displayed first, and all archived resources, membership Reports – A number of significant reports on topics ranging from virtual reference in libraries to perceptions about library funding